If you’re reading this, I imagine you have the desire to spread the positive benefits of Krav Maga to your local community and help to make the world a safer place. Teaching Krav Maga is incredibly rewarding, whether you are doing so as your full-time profession or just out of passion in your spare time. People from many different backgrounds end up becoming krav maga instructors, but the uniting factor is their desire to teach and uplift.

Are you a martial arts school owner, a current black belt in a different style, a krav maga student, a fitness/gym owner, personal trainer, law enforcement personnel, have a career in the military, or some other similar situation? If so, you are already more prepared to learn and then teach the style of Krav Maga. Below, I will line out the basic steps you will need to take to become a legitimately certified and qualified instructor of Israeli Krav Maga.

Become a Krav Maga student. This is the essential, obvious first step. There are actually some associations that will claim that you can simply attend a short seminar or training to become an instructor without first being a student. Of course, if you are an experienced martial artist, and hold a high rank and proficiency in a similar combative self-defense system or other fighting style, there is the possibility of an accelerated path. Here are your options for becoming a krav maga student, on your eventual path to being an instructor:

Enroll in a Local Krav Maga School – Find a qualified instructor in your area. Make sure and try a free class to get a feel for the instructors, curriculum, environment, and overall culture of the academy.

Attend a Krav Maga Seminar – Some associations offer seminars or short training programs that will introduce you to the style, and give you the opportunity to get in-person training from time to time.

Enroll in an Online Krav Maga School – Find a qualified and accredited online (or hybrid) krav maga school that allows you to train and earn rank from a distance, such as the Global Martial Arts University Krav Maga course.

Train and earn rank in Krav Maga. Take your time learning and training in the style. Don’t consider that your goal is to someday teach the material that you are learning, but rather, to fully engage, use, and understand the methods and philosophy. Teaching is an after-thought, a natural progression, after you yourself have experienced. Take your first exam to achieve your Level 1 or Yellow Belt certification (different schools have different names for the first level).

In some associations, after earning your first rank (and being an advanced belt in a different martial arts style), you are eligible to attend an instructor certification program.

Some associations and schools require that you first earn a brown or black belt in krav maga, before you can ever become an instructor.

And some do not have a student rank requirement, and just let you jump to instructor, which you should be weary of (due to your own lack of experience in training, and time spent mastering the material and embedding it into your muscle memory).

Find the right Krav Maga Instructor Certification event. If you have already been training for some time as a student, or have previous experience, you can now search for the right instructor certification course for you to take part in. The purpose of attending an instructor course is not just to learn the krav maga curriculum. You should have already learned the curriculum which you plan on teaching, in your own studies as a student. A krav maga instructor course should encompass:

Principles of Teaching – Overarching principles that will make you an effective teacher, regardless of what subject you are instructing.

Martial Arts Instructor Techniques – How to effectively instruct a technique (the cycle of instruction), manage a classroom floor, execute warm ups, various types of drills, class formations, teaching different age groups, working with disabilities, motivating students, correcting students, testing, feedback, and many other aspects that are specific to martial arts.

Krav Maga Philosophy and Methods – Specific to the style of Krav Maga, learning how to not just teach a collection of techniques, but stringing together all movements into a fluid philosophy that students can truly understand, at a cellular level, as well as intellectual level.

Class Planning, Curriculum, and Testing – Learning how to plan effective, fun, and exciting classes. Teaching and following a curriculum that keeps you consistent, while allowing for dynamic evolutions. And testing and promoting students while maintaining high standards and a clear-cut path for advancement.

Basic Business Management and Krav Maga Class Implementation – At the least, a quick course on how to introduce a new Krav Maga program, and different formats for instructing your target student base. This can vary greatly if you plan on teaching law enforcement, youth classes, or fitness-oriented programs to young adults.

Instructing Specific Techniques and Concepts – Now that you already know the techniques, you will need to learn the nuances, variations, drills, and implementations for techniques within the curriculum that you plan on instructing.

Choose the right Krav Maga association to align with. Think beyond the initial krav maga instructor certification event. Which association is the best fit for me and my goals as a krav instructor? There are different types of associations, that offer varying levels of products and services:

Franchisors/Licensors – These are large organizations that not only allow you to become an instructor, but also open up a full-scale academy with their namesake. There is a much larger monetary investment upfront, as well as a sizeable monthly fee for all benefits. This option will give you full support in managing your krav maga school, advertising guidance, marketing advice, business systems, curriculum, and much more. $500+ a month

Business/Marketing + Instruction Focused Associations – There are other, mid-sized associations that have an emphasis on business building ideas, marketing, sales, as well as the instruction of krav maga. These groups tend to charge a monthly fee to stay active as an instructor in their organization, along with the other benefits they provide. $150-300+ a month

Instruction + Curriculum Focused Associations – These associations exist to teach and support the certified instructors with a focus on the Krav Maga curriculum, high quality instruction, and instructor support. The Global Martial Arts Association Krav Maga division is a great example of this, which does not charge a monthly fee to be an active instructor, and just have a lower cost certification event to become a part of the association. This makes it ideal for schools who want to add a krav maga program to their academy, or for personal trainers or gyms wanting to add a new program, without adding a large monthly expense. $0-$100 a month

Attend a Krav Maga Instructor Certification event. Now that you have been training as a student, have earned rank, researched certification options, and done some more research on the association that you want to align yourself (and your school) with, it is time to commit to an event. You will need to attend a local, in-person instructor certification, so that you can have hands-on guidance, feedback, and an intensive learning experience with the instructors. Some associations offer a 2 day event, a one week program, and some can be in-between. Study, prepare, and train hard at the event so that you can pass!

Begin teaching Krav Maga! You’ve done it! You have just joined a small (but growing) group of honorable and determined individuals who set out to become wonderful practitioners as well as teachers of this incredible self defense system and way of life. Make plans to introduce a new krav class, or being instructing in whichever format makes sense to your situation.

Continue training as a student, and certify to the next instructor level. Chances are, you were certified in the first level, which means that you can now begin to legitimately train, test, and rank your own local students. But, you need to continue to learn the next levels of curriculum on your own, and never stop training as a student. You will also want to prepare for the next instructor course, so that you can become certified to teach higher levels, and stay active within your association.